Maharashtra goes Karnataka’s way! Aims to become India's top software exporter

Inspired by Karnataka, the country's leading software exporter, the Maharashtra government is planning to ramp up its IT exports.

To bridge the gap with the India’s leading exporter, Maharashtra has come up with a policy that promises several sops for IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) companies to set up shops in the state.

Currently, the state's annual IT exports are half of what Karnataka exports. According to an official, Maharashtra's IT policy for 2015 offers an additional 100-200% FSI and space utilization to ITITES and AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming and comics) parks, with a premium recovery of only 10-30%, subject to some conditions. The policy also offers 20-40% built-up area for support services in IT parks.

Among the other plans are permission to set up integrated IT townships, adjustment in property tax of cost put in to develop roads and civic infrastructure, exemption in stamp duty of up to 100%, electricity duty exemption for the first 10-15 years, and relief in entertainment tax for animation film production.

Experts are of the view that the new policy can attract investments of about Rs 50,000 crore and add Rs 1 lakh crore in exports for the state.

Moreover, IT expert Vijay Bhatkar is of the opinion that Maharashtra should have taken these steps 5-10 years back, a little after the country's first IT park was set up in Pune.

Bhatkar said that after the IT industry's inception in 1998, the growth rate of the software industry was 40-45%. The rate has now come down to 12-15%. Of course, recession, immigration problems and the economic crisis in Europe have affected the IT export business.

After the introduction of IT parks in 2001, the state came up with a policy in 2003, wherein 253 IT parks with a built-up space of 3.90 million square metres obtained letters of intent to set up units. After six years, when another policy was introduced, nearly 212 parks with a built-up space of 8.93 million square metres came up in the state. The policies boosted Maharashtra's IT exports from Rs 5,508 crore (2002-03) to Rs 55,420 crore (2013-14), a growth of above 900%.

But these phases also coincided with massive expansions in Karnataka. Its IT exports, about Rs 12,500 crore in 2002-03, jumped 730% to reach over Rs 1.03 lakh crore by 2013-14.The latest policy is aimed at catching up with Karnataka and overtaking it as the country's IT leader, senior state industries department officials said.

(Image: Indiatimes)